Doris Lessing & September 11: Not Politically Correct At All

by Mondoreb

Nobel prize-winning author Doris Lessing was her non-PC self in her recent quotes. Praised for her "scepticism, fire and visionary power", it was all on display in a recent interview. From the Telegraph:

Doris Lessing, the Nobel Prize-winning British author, has called the attacks on New York on Sept 11, 2001, "not that terrible", compared to the campaign of terror waged by the IRA in the UK.

"September 11 was terrible, but if one goes back over the history of the IRA, what happened to the Americans wasn't that terrible,” she told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Lessing explained and added a bit of history. She also included a little bit of an observation about Americans that's sure to rankle.

"Some Americans will think I'm crazy. Many people died, two prominent buildings fell, but it was neither as terrible nor as extraordinary as they think. They're a very naive people, or they pretend to be," she said of the Americans.

"Do you know what people forget? That the IRA attacked with bombs against our Government.”

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept 11 attacks of 2001. More than 3,500 died and thousands more were injured in more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

The loss of life was concentrated into one horrific incident in the United States. The loss of life in Great Britain was no less horrific, though spread out over a much longer period. Those who quarrel about the details are missing the big picture: Doris Lessing thought both occurrences were horrible. She just wasn't politically correct about in stating it. That's a right you gain when you've lived 88 years on this rock.